Grain-door for freight-cars



(No Model.)

'J. WRIGHT. GRAIN DOOR FOR FREIGHT GAR&

N0. 593,266. Patented Nov. 9, 1897.

UNITED STATES PATENT rric.

JOSEPH 'WRIGHT, OF LANCASTER, W'ISGONSIN.

GRAIN-DOOR FOR FREIGHT-CARS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 593,266, dated November9, 1897.

Application filed March 10, 1897. Serial No. 626,798. (No model.)

To (LZZ whom it inn/y concern- Be itknown that I, JOSEPH WRIGHT, acitizen of the United States, residing at Lancaster, in the county ofGrant and State of Wisconsin,have invented a new and useful Grain- Doorfor Freight-Oars, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to grain-doors for freight-cars, its object beingto provide a door formed of independently movable sections which slidein ways and may be supported beneath the roof of the car when not inuse.

With this object in view the invention consists in the several detailsof construction and combination of parts hereinafter fully de scribed,and particularly pointed out in the claim.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a freightcarembodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section throughthe body of the car. Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal section of partof the carbody. Figs. 4 and 5 are perspective views of detached details.

Similar reference-numerals indicate similar parts in the severalfigures.

1 represents an ordinary box-car provided with the usual door-opening 2on each side. The outer sliding doors are represented by 3. These partsmay be of any approved constru 0- tion and constitute no part of myinvention.

a represents grooved ways consisting of channel-bars 5, which aresecured to the side edges of the door-openings and to the roof of thecar. These channel-bars may be made up of sections or be one continuousbar bent to the desired form to be attached in its proper position, theessential feature being that the grooved ways 4 shall be continuous fromthe floor of the car on one side to the floor of the car on the oppositeside. The bars are held securely in position by means of screws 6 orother suit-able fastening devices. In the corners formed by the junctionof the roof with the sides of the car the way 4 must be wider than atany other point for the purpose of permitting the sections of thegraindoor to be moved from the vertical portions of the ways on thesides of the cars to the portions under the roof, which are at nearly aright angle to the vertical portions. If the channel-bars are made insections, the section adapted to fit into the corner may be cast with awidened groove, as indicated at 7 in Fig. 4. Should, however, thechannel bar be in one continuous piece, the upper flange maybe cut awayat the bent portion in the corner, as indicated at 8in Fig. 5.

9 represents sections of which the graindoor is formed. These sectionsin practice will be about one foot in width, and the meeting edges ofthe sections may be beveled, as indicated at 10 on one side of Fig. 2,in order that when the sections are in position they will partiallyoverlap each other, or instead of beveling the meeting edges of thesections a tongue-and-groove connection may be made, as indicated at 11on the other side of Fig. 2. The object of beveling the meeting edges orproviding a tongue-and groove connection between them is to make a closejoint for the purpose of preventing leakage of the grain. The sections 9are of such length as to fit snugly in the ways at and to slide freelytherein. In practice, about four sections will be used on each side ofthe car, and each section is provided with recesses 12 to formfinger-holds, by means of which the sections may be moved in the ways 4.

When not in use, the sections will he slid in the ways up under the roofof the car, and in order to hold them in position a pin 13 may beinserted through suitable openings 14 in the channel-bars 5, and inorder that the pins may not be lost they may be suspended by shortchains 15,secured to the car-roof. Similar pins may be employed to holdthe sections against movement when they are in position to close thelower part of the door-opening 2, and these pins may also be connectedto chains secured to the sides of the car.

In building new cars the grooved ways or that portion of them whichextends across under the roof can be utilized as rafters, and even inapplying the device to old cars the grooved ways can frequently besubstituted for rafters which may be conveniently removed. At all timesthe grooved ways will serve to strengthen and brace the roof and thesides of the car.

Among the advantages arising from the use of my invention are thefollowing:

The several sections of the grain-doors may be easily moved into and outof operative position.

hen not in use, the sections may be supported close to the roof of thecar, where they will be entirely out of the way, but will be alwaysaccessible when required.

By making the grain-door of independentlymovable sections in loading orunloading grain from the car the several sections may be moved into orout of place in the doorway as they are required, and thereby avoid thenecessity of shoveling a large portion of the grain over the entireheight of the grain-door.

By having the grooves or ways continuous from the floor of the car atone side up under the roof and down to the floor of the car at the otherside I am enabled to use some or all of the sections of one door inaddition to those of the other door on one side of the car whennecessary, in order to almost or completely close the door-opening onthat side. This will be advantageous when the car is to be loaded by aspout from a warehouse, since suificient grain to make a load could berun into a car Without having to shovel it all back during the processof discharging it into the car. In other words, sufficient grain to makethe load can be banked up against one side of the ear and besubsequently leveled.

While I have illustrated and described my invention as applied to a carwhen used for grain, it is obvious that it may be used in warehouses andother like places and for substances other than grain.

It will be understood that changes in the form, proportion, and minordetails of construction may be resorted to without departing from thespirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is- The combinationwith a freight-car having door-openings on opposite sides, of groovedways extending up the sides of the door-openings and across the roof ofthe car, said ways being continuous from the floor on one side of thecar to the floor on the opposite side and Wider at the corners or bendsthan in the straight portions, and a grain-door for each door-opening,each door consisting of a series of independently-movable sectionssupported to slide in said ways, and the several sections of each doorbeing independently movable from one door-opening to the other, wherebya part of one of the grain-doors may be used on one side of the car andthe other part moved over to the other side to cooperate with the othergrain -door, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

JOSEPH YVRIGHT.

Witnesses:

G. B. WVHEELER, E. B. GoonsELL.

